Electro-thermal bathing apparatus



(No Model.)

' W. P. HOWE.

.ELEOTRO THERMAL BATHING APPARATUS; No. 507,867. Patented Oct. 24, 1893.

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WILLIAM F. HOWE, OF EVANSTON, WYOMING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,367, dated October24, 1893.

Application filed April 29, 1893.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. HOWE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Evanston, in the county of Uinta and State of Wyoming,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electro-ThermalBathing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electro-thermal, vapor andmedicated baths and its object is to provide a portable structure ofthis character which will be very efficient in use and so simple in itsoperation as not to require the services of a physician or skilledattendant, and which can be so cheaply constructed as to. be within thereach of the public generally.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination ofparts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a central longitudinalsectional View of an apparatus constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the chair the casing and cover beingremoved.

In the said drawings the chair in which the person undergoing treatmentis seated may be of any ordinary construction, comprising the legs 1,seat 2, rounds 3, and back t. To the upper cross bar 5 of the back issecured a gasoline reservoir 6, provided with a pipe 7, which extendsdownwardly and then forwardly, terminating at the center of andunderneath the seat in a burner 8, of any ordinary or approvedconstruction. This pipe is provided with a valve 9 and valve stem 10,the latter having a cog wheel 12, meshing with a similar wheel 13, fixedto a rotatable shaft 14, journaled in a transverse bar 15 secured to therear legs of the chair, and in a plate 16, carried by the pipe 7. Thisshaft projects rearwardly through a hole in a casing hereinafterdescribed.

Located above the burner 8 and resting upon the side rounds of the chairis a removable receptacle 17 for containing water,which may bemedicated, if desired, and which is Serial No. 472,394:- (No model.)

provided with a faucet 18, for drawing 0E the contents without removingthe receptacle.

The numeral 19 designates a casing consisting of a metal plate bent intocircular form and its ends connected by thumb nuts or clamps 20. Thiscasing is formed with a hole 21 for the passage of the shaft 14, andalso to admit air to the burner.

The numeral 23 denotes a covering consisting of a rubber sheet having ahole 26 in the center for the passage of the head of the patient.

The numeral 25 designates a metallic conducting plate, with which isconnected one of the Wires of an electric battery. In use the platerests upon the floor in front of the patient forming an electrode uponwhich the feet are placed. The other electrode is held in one of thepatients hands.

The operation is as follows: The casing 19 completely incloses orsurrounds the chair, with its lower edge resting on the floor. Thepatient to be treated unfastens the thumb nuts 20 and pulls the ends ofthe casing apart so that he can enter the same, and seats himself on thechair. The water vessel is then partly filled with water, the burnerlitand the cover placed over the upper edge of the casing,with the patientshead projecting through the hole therein. The Water in the vessel willcominence to boil very soon and the vapor being con fined Within thecasing will act upon the patient with very beneficial results. ThisWater may be medicated or not as desired, and an electricalcurrent maybemade to pass through the body of the patient, by means of the electrodesand battery before mentioned. By means of the shaft 14, the cog Wheeland the cog wheel and valve connected with the gasoline pipe, the supplyof liquid supplied to the burner may be regulated from outside thecasing, so as to increase or decrease the heat, according ascircumstances may dictate. By this construction it is not necessary forthe attendant to enter the casing.

From the above it will be seen that the device is very cheap and simplein construction, and can be readily applied to any ordinary chairWithout the aid of skilled labor. The casing also being of sheet metal,preferably zinc, can berolled up into a very small compass so that allthe parts may be readily removed from place to place and then set up foruse, which will be very advantageous to traveling specialists. Againthere is no necessity of the patient being exposed during the treatmentor while dressing and undressing, as any person of average intelligencecan take a proper position in the bath without assistance.

The apparatus maybe used asa vapor bath, as before set forth, or byremoving the water vessel, be converted into adry or hot air bath.

The electrodes may be applied to any portion of the body so as tolocalize the current to the parts needing treatment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The combination witha chair, the sheet metal casing provided with thumb nuts-at its meetingedges, and havingxa hole at its rear, and thecover having a hole for thepassage 3 of the head of apatient,aof theliquid fuel res- 1 ported bythe rounds of the chair, substantially as described.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my ownI have hereunto aftixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. HOWE.

Witnesses:

BENJ. M. AUSHERMAN. STEPHEN D. SOMMERS.

